Official: Arizona State really is hiring Herm Edwards as its next coach

KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 02: Former Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards before an NFL game between the Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs on October 2, 2017 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. The Chiefs won 29-20. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire)

UPDATE 11 p.m. ET Dec. 3

Arizona State has officially hired Herm Edwards as its next head coach.

“Our goal for this football program is to reach unprecedented heights, and therefore we need to find a way to operate more innovatively and efficiently than we have in the past,” athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement. “In the spirit of innovation, our vision for this program is to have a head coach who serves as a CEO and is the central leader with a collaborative staff around him that will elevate the performance of players and coaches on the field, in the classroom and in our community. Equally important, the head coach will be a dynamic and tireless recruiter.”

The hiring of Edwards is part of a “restructure” of the Arizona State football program. Anderson, who used to be Edwards’ agent when the coach was in the NFL, is trying something different.

The department’s New Leadership Model will be similar to an NFL approach using a general manager structure. It’s a collaborative approach to managing the ASU football program that includes sport and administrative divisions, which will operate as distinct, but collective units focused on elevating all aspects of Sun Devil Football. This structure will allow the department to form a multi-layered method to the talent evaluation and recruiting processes, increase its emphasis on both student-athlete and coach development and retention, and provide a boost in resource allocation and generation.

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Arizona State is going to go through with its unconventional plan to hire Herm Edwards as its next head coach.

According to multiple reports, Edwards will be the next coach of the Sun Devils when his deal is approved by school administration.

BREAKING: Herm Edwards is expected to be Arizona State’s next football coach pending approval of University President Dr. Michael Crow https://t.co/tZAfzu1Rs1

Confirmed earlier reports that pending approval of ASU President Dr. Michael Crow, Herm Edwards will be hired as ASU's next football coach. Deal has been done for days. Edwards will keep current staff.

Edwards, 63, is currently an analyst for ESPN. The former coach of the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs hasn’t coached football in a professional capacity since 2008. But that’s not stopping Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson from hiring him.

Anderson used to be Edwards’ agent. Yes, this is a former agent firing a coach who was 46-31 in his career at Arizona State to hire a guy that used to be his client.

ASU fired Todd Graham on Sunday, a day after the Sun Devils beat Arizona to finish the season at 7-5. The win also gave Arizona State second place in the Pac-12 South, a division that Anderson called “weak” on Sunday.

Well, that “weak” division now has USC and a UCLA team coached by Chip Kelly. Along with an Arizona team that has quarterback Khalil Tate, one of the most dynamic players in college football. And Arizona State just hired a guy who hasn’t coached college football since he was the defensive backs coach at San Jose State from 1987-1989.

The freshmen in Arizona State’s class of 2018 will all have been born 10 years after Edwards last coached college football.

“When you talk, you have discussions with people that you’ve had relationships with and a lot of things are talked about,” Edwards said via AZCentral.com. “For me, where I’m at in my life, everything had to come into play where it was a fit. And I think it’s more important that it’s a fit and this happened to be a fit. I owe [Anderson] a conversation where we could communicate and sit down and talk and we’ll see where it goes.”

Anderson also said that he wanted whoever Arizona State’s new coach would be to keep the team’s coordinators. Offensive coordinator Billy Napier was in his first season with the school after arriving from Alabama and defensive coordinator Phil Bennett was in his first season after leaving Baylor.

SOURCE: Arizona State wants OC Billy Napier to stay with Herm Edwards as HC. Napier will run the offense and will have substantial input in the operation from top to bottom. Keeping him was a priority for ASU after the work he did this year.